Jarquez Smith scored 16 points for Florida State (4-4), which has won all 11 meetings with UCF. Kiel Turpin chipped in 10 points for the Seminoles, who shot 62.1 percent.
Brandon Goodwin scored 16 points to lead UCF (5-2), which fell to 1-28 against current members of the ACC. B.J. Taylor and Adonys Henriquez added 14 points apiece and Daiquan Walker scored 12 off the bench.
Thomas scored six points during an 11-0 run that extended Florida State's lead to 39-26 with 4:20 left in the half before the Knights were able to narrow the margin to 47-37 at the break. The Seminoles shot 75 percent from the field in the half as Thomas, Brandon and Turpin combined for 34 points on 16-of-20 shooting.
The Knights pulled within eight on Staphon Blair's layup to open the second half but never got that close again. Brandon converted back-to-back three-point plays to cap a 10-0 burst that pushed the margin to 64-45 with 13:54 left and the Seminoles cruised from there.
GAME NOTEBOOK: UCF C Justin McBride, who scored 45 points in the previous two games, was limited to two points on 1-of-4 shooting. … G Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who entered as Florida State's leading scorer at 14.3 points per game, was held scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting. … Florida State held a 42-25 advantage on the boards.
Central Florida | Florida St. | |
Brandon Goodwin 16 | Scoring | Montay Brandon 23 |
B.J. Taylor 3 | Assists | Dayshawn Watkins 6 |
Brandon Goodwin 5 | Rebounds | Montay Brandon 6 |
B.J. Taylor 5 | Free Throws Made | Montay Brandon 3 |
Brandon Goodwin 1 | Steals | Jarquez Smith 2 |
Staphon Blair 1 | Blocks | Boris Bojanovsky 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Central Florida | 73 | 41.0 | 6-16 | 17-21 | 7 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
Florida St. | 96 | 62.1 | 3-12 | 11-20 | 20 | 38 | 7 | 5 | 12 |